The Zombie War
by Petrat852
Summary: This is a Journal that I have written from what I saw and did in my own eyes during the Great Panic, the clearing of the sewers and my escape and hiding from the Army when they started their march across the United States of America.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue December 21st

Prologue

December 21st, Day 0

Zombies, the Undead, Zach, G's, Stenchers, Ghouls, the Walking Dead. There are many names for these… creatures. The Zombie War or commonly known as World War Z was a horrible experience for many, most of us didn't know what to do, but a few of us knew where to go and what to do when we started on the path to salvation from the Undead. The Great Panic, the Dark Years, and all that. It all sucked, especially Yonkers, which gave the Army a what for. All I can say after hearing about that is 'Thank God I'm in the Marine Corps!'

When it first began, we didn't know it at the time since the plague started in rural China so we didn't know about it at the time. Weird reports flooded in from different channels, but people thought it was a crazy homicidal maniac running biting people, so we barely paid attention, that was until it hit our country.

I was just a young Captain when it began. I was skinny, but well built. Short brown hair that's to Marines standard of hair grooming. I was tall, about 6'1" and fairly handsome. Never married or had my first kiss for that matter, which I think is weird since I was 27 in retrospect. It was a Thursday, around 1300 (1:00 p.m.) when I was in Colonel Tiller's office for some reason that I did not know what for until I got in there.

"Sir, Captain Petramala, reporting as ordered, sir!" I spoke confidently.

"At ease Captain. Do you know why I called you in here?" Tiller asked me. Now, There colonel here is a "no-bullshit, get-things-done-before-I-blow-your-fucking-head-off" type of guy, but he was a hell of a soldier. 2 tours in 'Nam, 4 in the Middle East, and was my superior during the Brushfire Wars. He's gotten every medal and awards known to a Marine, except he was never in the reserve. But, he was in the Mafia when he was nine back in Hoboken. Damn New Yorkers.

"No sir."

"You're being discharged Captain." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: he so much of a prick the he makes Hitler looks nice.

"For what Reason?!" I demanded.

"1) you never turned in those battle reports, 2) you got 2 misdemeanors, and 3) you're being a total bitch about it, you should be happy that your getting out of the Marine Corps, you hated it didn't you? Now since you're being discharged, hand over your pistol and badge." He said while motioning with his hand to bring them forward.

"Umm sir, I'm not a MP, and I'm a sniper so my stuff is in the Armory."

"I thought you came from the range?"

"No sir, it's my day off today."

"Oh I'm sorry, wrong person. Well since you're here already, take this." He told me while tossing me a dark velvet box. I opened it up and saw it was a watch.

"Why are you giving me a watch sir?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I 'm retiring at the end of the month Captain and since you were my best sniper, I'd thought I'd give it to you."

"Oh, well thank you Colonel, but I can't accept it, sir."

"You better damn well accept it otherwise I will take this phone and bash your head in, is that clear?!" He roared.

"SIR YES SIR!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Dismissed." He said then I walked out of his door. "And don't forget to shut the door!"

Once I was clear I shut his office door and put the watch on. After the cuff made a _click_ I hear my name being called and looked to the left and all I could say was to what I saw was, "oh balls." Then _wham!_ I was one the floor being hugged.

"What the fuck Carol?! Get off me, it's against rules to show PDA (Public Display of Infection) while on duty, I need to deliver this letter to General Wilker." I pushed her off of me then stood up and brushed dust off of my Desert Digital BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform). "Seriously, what the fuck?! You have stop that shit, Carol."

"You like it and you know it." She poked me in the chest then giggled as she brought her face up close to mine.

"Fine, I do," I lied, "can I please go deliver this message, I'm gonna get in trouble if I don't."

"Fine, same time tonight though? It's been two months since the last meeting."

"Oh that's right. 2000 hours, right?"

"Yup, 8 O' clock. Oh I got something for you so you can remember me by. Now, close your eyes or I will close them for you, forever. And bend your head down, I wont be able to reach over your head if stand straight." I just shrugged and closed my eyes shut and aimed them at the ground. Now, Carol is tall as my shoulders and she has short dirty blonde hair that goes to her shoulders. He green eyes appear able to swallow you whole and throw you into an ocean.

"Ok, open up your eyes." She told me and I did. I looked down at my chest and saw a fox head necklace, glittering in the artificial light.

"I've been looking for this since He first got it!" I exclaimed while fingering the small medallion. This medallion is apart of the Wheel of Time Series written by the late Robert Jordan.

"I got it at Comic Con last year when I was at Miramar. Man that was some event."

"I bet, well thanks Carol, but you really gotta stop tackling me every time we meet. It gets creepier the more you do it. Now, I have to go but I'll pick you up at 8!" I said while jogging backwards, then turned around and ran off around a corner.

Nothing else that was interesting happened that day, just running around delivering letters on my day off.

"You're sure?" I asked her as soon as we came up to the door and I rang the gong two times that was hanging next to the door. I don't know why it was there, but my friend Colt had it since he bought the house, but I'm not the one to judge.

"Yes, I'm sure I want to wear this." Carol told me in a firm voice. I just rolled my eyes and waited. Women. The door opened up and Colt was there.

"Carol! Pet! How long has it been since we last seen each other?!"

"Dude, we hung out just last night," I told him.

"Right, right. Come in, sorry, my memory still isn't what it used to be after the accident. He Carol, what's with sparking ball gown and shawl?" Colt here has been my friend since junior year of high school. He's tall, about my height; well he's just a couple of inches shorter. Brown haired, brown eyed and stocky now, but he's a cool laid back guy.

"I have my reasons." Carol said as she walked in.

"Pet!!" a voice called from another room as we walked in and Colt closed the door.

"Hey James." I called back.

"I'm coming, just hold on a minute." He called back. James is a stocky, short (he's a head taller than Carol though), brown haired, brown eyed, witty guy. He's also been a friend since high school. We both went to Marine Corps Boot Camp together. We were in same platoon when started out, hell we were in the same squad! We both went into the reserves and started college. After we finished college, he didn't like the Corps so he left after his enlistment was up and became a cop. "Hot cakes are almost done!"

"Really James? Pancakes?' I asked while taking a seat in the coach while Carol took the seat next to me.

"Hey…. Shut up." James replied and Colt laughed.

"Where's Robot, I thought he'd coming with you?" another voice called.

"Not really Ken. Remember: Phillips's robotic mind can't comprehend zombies." I called back to Ken. "Besides, he's been deployed to Italy. Lucky bastard." Ken is Vietnamese so he's a bit short. He has Marine Corps standard black trimmed hair, brown eyes and full of stereotypical Asian jokes. Hes also Marine just like Carol and I, but he went through college first.

"Hurry up James!" Colt shouted as he took a blue Lazy Boy rocker while Ken sat in the chair next to me and swung his leg over the arm of the chair.

You want to come do this yourself?" James asked

"You're doing fine on your own." Colt laughed.

"Who wants pancakes?!" James called as he brought the plate from the kitchen.

"I ate before I came here." Ken said.

"I'm not that hungry, thanks anyway James." I told him.

"Same." Carol added in quickly then she shot me a quick and small smile. I just turned my attention away from her after shacking my head and cursing in Spanish under my breath.

"I'll take –"Colt said before being interrupted by the sound of his gong ringing. I heard Ken mutter a prayer in Vietnamese or I thought it was prayer. I just muttered a prayer in Spanish while Carol just sat there watching me from the corner of her eye.

Colt opened up the door, while he did, a blur shot through the open door way and shouted out, "hey Michael!" The next thing I knew, I was on the ground feeling something soft and…squishy rubbing against my face. I opened my eyes and saw the face of a really tanned woman and her…boobs were on my face.

I exhaled a deep breath I was apparently holding and said, "hi Karen."

"Now that everyone is here, let's get on to the meeting." Colt said then sat down in his rocker while I pushed Karen off of me and sat down in my seat. She sat down next to me.

Before Colt could speak, the door creaked open and I heard some moaning, I pulled out my 1911, screwed on the silencer and pointed my gun as the person who had a bloody face and eyes glazed milky white. The person, who was a man, rounded the corner and _twacht_. The head was pushed back; the body fell with a _thump_ and no blood poured from the back of the person's head.

"Jesus Christ!" James screamed.

"An actual zombie," Ken mused as I put my gun back into its holster.

"How can you tell?" Karen asked.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" James asked, "never mind, zombies have bloodied faces from eating flesh since blood splattered on them. Their eyes are glazed white since there is no more moisture in them and as a result, lint gets into them and makes them look white. This person has a bite mark on his neck but somehow got away. His arm has been torn off and no fluids coming out of it. His leg is broken with the bone still sticking out of the knee." He pointed to each corresponding part he talked about. "Normal humans can't walk with broken legs without feeling pain…zombies shamble if they have a broken leg or crawl if they both their legs are broken or if they don't have a midsection.

"It takes 24 hours for a normal human to transform into a zombie. It's a very horrible thing to go through, though, I wouldn't know."

"Hmm…don't care. What now?"

"Fuck! Alright, let's split up. I, Colt and Ken will get the weapons. James, you, Karen and Carol will get the food and water, then we will meet up at Mark's in about two hours." I ordered but when they didn't so I shouted, "Move! Move! Don't argue with me right now Carol, just go!" I shooed her out and shouted, "And don't forget to change!" I turned to Ken and Colt, "Let's get to Andy's gun shop guys."

Nothing actually happened after we got the stuff. The women got four big boxes of MRE's. For the guns, we got six civilian HK416's, two configured to be snipers, and all six will use 7.62mm full metal jacket bullet. We got five M1911 .45 caliber pistols with silencers and an integrated RAS system. We also got silencers for all six 416's. The regular four rifles will be configured to fire full auto, while the two snipers will be kept at semi-auto.

With the weapon's we have, zombies are going to "die" when we start out west for California. God I hate that place. We're starting out at first light.


	2. Chapter 2 Part One December 22nd

**Part One: **Starting Out

December 22nd, Day 1

We started out around 0130 hours at night; we stopped off a few miles away from the Quantico and were in a forest already. We started out again at 0530 in the morning and continued on.

"Where are we going?" Karen whined while we continued walking.

"For the 10th time this morning, we are going to California." Ken told her in an annoyed tone.

"But why that far Mike?" she asked.

"Because, that's where the-." I stopped, went to the crouch and put up my fist, to signal to stop them. "5 yards, 2 O'clock position." I whispered will pointing to a G shambling to my left.

"I got him," Colt said while he raised his HK416 and aimed through his 4x scope.

"Let 'im pass," Ken said as he put a hand on Colt's HK416 barrel and lightly pushed it down. Colt frowned but complied with a nod.

We just sat there watching the zombie shamble through the clearing we were in. It was pretty funny sight, seeing it walk into trees, and trip over the rocks until it tripped over one rock and fell, busted it's skull open while gray matter trickled out of it's skull in small chunks.

Carol grabbed my arm and buried her face into my BDU sleeve so she would not have to look while it fell. But James took a picture of it after it fell. He looked at me, shrugged then said, "never know if it will happen again in our lifetime." I just rolled my eyes.

"Let's get moving again." I ordered while standing up and started walking past the zombie. I heard Ken pull out his pistol, cocked it and shot it.

Nothing happened during the day. We stopped an hour after "Tim the Dumbass Zombie" and ate some lunch.

We started off again and continued on into the night until an hour after full dark.

"So why are we going to California, Mike?" Carol asked me from the across the fire.

"Californication," I simply told her.

"Good song," James mused.

"That still doesn't answer-." I put my pointer over my lips and made a "shh" sound. I pulled out my pistol and waited for a few seconds. It felt like hours until I heard the sound of a pinging shell casing hitting a rock and the sound of a body falling to the ground.

I looked at the backs of Ken, Karen and Colt. Well, Ken was straightening after picking up, I guessed, his casing.

"The reason why that is in the book World War Z, west of the Rockies is the "safe zone", ok?" I told her. She just crossed her arms under her breasts and muttered something I couldn't hear while looking away. I caught a few words that said something about "men", "morons", and "reasons". I don't understand women and probably never will.

I sighed and opened my mouth to apologize, but the snapping of many twigs sounded in the distance. But the peculiar thing was there was no moaning or shuffling.

We three got up and aimed our weapons at four human silhouettes. The movements were a solid, fluid moment, unlike those of a zombie which are choppy and stagnant.

I had my pistol on the lead figure and when it saw my pistol in the light fire, it raised its hands up. Definitely not a zombie.

"Who are you?!" I called out to the figure. "What do you want?"

"My name's Danny and I have three friends with me. One is pregnant. We saw your fire a hundred yards back. We were hoping we could travel together. We have our own food and sleeping bags." The man named Danny called back in a concerned voice.

I sighed then I hesitantly put my pistol down and put it back in its holster after a few seconds.

"Alright, but the women first." I called back.

There was muttering of an argument then it went silent. Two women stepped into the fire light and I gestured that they can sit down by the fire.

After helping the pregnant woman sit down, with muttered thanks, I told the men they can come. There were two men and they sat down next to their lovers or whatever.

Danny here is the perfect stereotype of a black man who grew up in the ghetto, though he was born, raised, and lived in middle class suburbia. Youngkun was a short man with a shaven head, there's a little fuzz growing on his hair that hints to black hair. Danny's girlfriend, I just found out, is just a finger shorter than Danny, who's a head taller than me, who's name was Brianna, and I don't mean the singer. She's also black, but her hair was in a bun while Danny's was shaven to stubble. The pregnant woman was named Jenna. She was Italian with brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute face. Since she was pregnant in a bad era, I call bad timing on Youngkun's and her part.

I stole a look from watch and saw it was 2342 hrs and stoop up, "It's late for me so I'm ganna go to bed," I yawned. "Oh James, can you incorporate Danny and Brianna into the rotation?"

"Sure Mike," James answered while I climbed into my sleeping bag.

"What's this rotation he was talking about?" I heard Danny ask.

"Guard Duty, don't worry. Barely anything happens with us, or so I think." James said then I drifted off to sleep. It felt good.

December 25th, Day 4

It's been a few days since anything happened worth writing about. But today… was a different story. After I got done with my shift at 0400 hrs, I woke Youngkun up for his turn and went to eat some breakfast.

While the food was being steamed cooked in the heater pouch, I heard this shuffling off in the woods that kept getting louder and louder. I turned to my right and saw a zombie heading towards me like there was no one else.

I pulled out silenced .45 and aimed right between the G's two pretty baby blue eyes. The Zombie must have just turned in the last 24 hours, damn Zach. I'm going to clarify really quickly on something. In the days of the Great Panic, it took just 72 hours for Zach to take over Continental America. It took three entire days to take over almost 3,000 miles of land, from ocean to ocean of the states.

Back to the zombie. I pulled the hammer down and aimed at it. It dropped its jaw then I saw gray matter and dried blood spray out the right side of its brain. It fell to the right from the force of the bullet. I looked over to where the shot came from and I saw Ken putting away his .45 back into holster.

Then I started hearing more and more shuffling. Dead leaves crackled and twigs snapped. Moaning was being heard from every direction.

"Shit," I breathed as I saw 4 then 5 then 10 zombies pop out of the morning mist on my 10:30 position. "Get the sleeping bags rolled up and don't worry about the fire!" I shouted. "Carol and I will scope a way out, Keep the channel clear and keep…." I started snapping my fingers so I can remember the pregnant woman's name.

"Jenna, mike," Carol said as she put her ear piece into her ear and clipped it on to her collar.

"Yes, Jenna. Keep Jenna safe until we are in the clear. Let's go Carol." I turned and jogged to west while taking out zombies on my way.

"Roger that, I'm right on your ass Mike." She told me and I heard her murmur to herself after a few seconds, "nice ass." I just rolled my eyes and kept heading west while taking zombies out.

After jogging for 30 minutes, I put up my right fist and went to a crouching position.

"What's up?" Carol Asked as she came up next to me.

"You hear that?" I asked her.

"No… I don't hear anything. Why?"

"No zombies. Tell the others to head west for 30 to grid point…uh…261446." I told her while folding my map back into my left breast pocket. She repeated everything into her mike.

"Roger that. We're on our way." James voice crackled into my ear piece.

Carol turned her mike to one-way and faced me. "We have a half an hour to ourselves. So… what do you want to do?"

"What are you implying?" I asked with a very dramatic suspicious look.

"I'm not implying anything, I'm just saying we have a half an hour to do whatever we want."

"Well, I'm just ganna read," I told her while pulling my book from one of my pants pockets. I layed down in the leaves and started reading my Sci-Fi book.

She sighed at the sight of me and layed down next to me, closed her eyes and fell asleep, or so I thought she was.

After reading for 20 minutes I felt my eyelids grow heavy so I finished my paragraph, marked my place and put my book back in the pocket. I crossed my arms over my chest, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

"Mike…" a male's voice sounded in my ear, "Mike, get up."

"PET! Get the fuck up before I rip ass right in your face!" I heard Colt yell into my ear.

"Fucking shit!!" I shouted, bolting up right. "You guys are couple of douchers!" I pointed to James and Colt. James and Ken were laughing. "Alright, since I'm up, let's get out of here before Zach shows up.

"Alright. Let's move little ladies. We have to get to California before summer." Carol said as she shouldered her sniper.

We men just grunted but we walked on. We headed west for the entire day without finding anything. Well, we found the occasional zombie shambling around but we dispatched them without any interference. But we stopped at noon for 30 minutes and continued walking for 4 hours, I think, and stopped every 30 minutes and we repeated this for the rest of the day.

December 26th, Day 5

Nothing happened at all until around 1500 hrs. We crossed into Tennessee last night also. We were walking through the woods and started hearing moaning all around us.

"Defense Pattern Bravo," I breathed into my mike. We all circled Jenna since she can't defend herself in a box formation. The moan kept getting louder and louder. Then it grew eerily silent. It was absolutely quiet and nothing moved or rustled in the bushes or in the tree canopies. Then we heard Youngkun scream.

"What's wrong?" Ken asked as we all turned to him.

"I don't know. It felt like something – oh fuck." He let out a quivering breather and raised his left foot. He shot the ghoul in the face before it could continue eating his flesh. He then took everything off save his clothes and tossed them to us since we started moving back from him and had our guns risen, even though it takes 23 hours just for someone to turn, but it's still good not to take any chances. "Well, since I'm ganna die, just keep all that and protect my wife." He told us absently as he starred at the zombie. It had no legs, or waist for that matter, but there was some sinew and parts of the small intestine hanging out the end.

Youngkun took a step back and fell into a pit that he probably saw before we did. We rushed over to see him being ripped apart from a bunch of zombies' hands and jaws. Everyone turned away from the sight but I continued to watch to burn this moment into my head so it never happens again.

"Mike," I heard Youngkun say with some difficulty. I saw the reason was because a zombie punctured his chest and took out a lung and started munching on it. "Tell my wife I… I love… her." he said at last as another zombie pulled out his heart, the pacemaker making it beat still and it took a bite out of it.

"I will," I whispered back. I took two grenades I hid away for something of this type of situation. I pulled both pins simultaneously and held them for a couple of seconds then dropped them into the pit. I turned away and headed back to the others. Both grenades went off but I never looked back.

We divided the Hk416 ammo amongst us and kept the gun in case someone lost theirs. But the M9, with holster and pistol ammo, went to Jenna so she can keep it as a memento of her husband and to defend herself.

"Let's continue on to California," I said then we headed out with a word. We trekked on through the great unknown of Tennessee, without ever looking back on this day.

December 31st, Day 10

5 Days went by uneventfully. 5, long ass days of just walking. 4 Days ago, we stopped off at a small, deserted town. I think it was called Shelser, population around 500, but my memory is a little hazy that far back. Anyway, we stopped at the town to replenish our food supply and water. We stayed for the night but kept close watch for any zombies, after clearing the town of course.

We left the town around dawn. That's when things got a bit interesting.

* * *

3 Days ago

"I'm just curious, but how much longer to get to California. And if we do reach it, what city are we going to say in?" Karen asked.

"Ken can figure out how long it will take us but once we get there, hopefully we can get into San Diego, by the time we get there, they should be done sweeping the sewers of Las Angeles, but I could be wrong." I answered.

"I thought we were going to L.A." Colt whined.

"What are you, stupid? If they did no sweep L.A., then it's going to be a huge death trap, and urban fighting is the last thing you want to do in a zombie apocalypse."

"Fuck you James," Colt told him and flipped the bird to him. James did the two finger salute and pelvic thrusted. "Take that you cock rag!"

I held up my fist and everyone crouched and went silent. "You guys hear that?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"It's the sound of boots stepping on leaves and twigs." Brianna answered.

"It also sounds orderly," Ken added.

"Other survivors?" Karen asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not waiting to find out." I said and stood up, moving towards the sound.

"Halt, what's the password?" a Southern accent drawled from, seemingly, everywhere.

"I don't know this "password" of yours; my party and I are just passing though to California." I told the voice.

"You also one of them survivors?" the voice drawled.

"Really?" Carol asked as she came up from behind me.

"Yes, really. Are you or not?"

"Yes, we are also survivors," James answered. "What are you, retarded or something?"

"Hey, we don't got them fancy-shmancy whatamacallits."

"Ok… Can we pass through?" Carol asked.

"Ya'll whites' can, but them damn (I'm not a racist at all, but for the sake of this book, I'm just quoting what the guy told us) _niggers_ can't." the voice drawled with hatred at the (sorry again) word "nigger".

"In this day and age, you hillbilly fucktards still believe in being racist?"

"Yes we do and we still believe that white people are better than any race." A kid called out.

"You got to be shittin' me!!" I exclaimed.

"No sir, we are not "shittin' you"." Another hillbilly told us while stepping out from behind a tree, cocking his shotgun. "You can either leave them niggers here or you can get out of our territory."

"Yeah, uh, if your ganna try and use force on professional soldiers, then it's your funeral. Attack Vector Victor!" I shouted the order and everyone leaped for the closest cover we could find.

Every racist that was there came walking out from their hiding spot and scratched their heads as they speculated on what we were going to do. Some of them were kids around 5-16 years old for Christ's sake!

"Shit," I breathed into my throat mike. _God, please grant me strength and release me from the sin I'm about to undertake in._ I prayed in my mind then once I felt was enough time I whispered with a cold tone into my mike, "open fire." One by one, the hillbillies dropped like flies from head shots before they could even think of what to do next.

I yelled out "cease fire" before walking out. I walked out from behind the rock I was hiding behind and walked over to the kill zone. Nothing moved from the bodies. Nothing. I waved my hand forward and we moved among the bodies. We weaved through, making sure not to step on one of them. We nudged each on we passed with a boot into their sides to see if they were alive. None were.

After we weaved through the bodies, I turned around and looked over the bodies one last time before I saw Brianna flip the last guy who apparently was still alive. Then everything slowed down in a heartbeat. He brought the pistol up and shot Brianna through the head 2 times before standing up and taking pot shots at us. I reacted first and brought down the fucker before anyone else was hurt.

"Anyone hit?" I asked. I just got no for answers before we ran to take a look at Brianna. When we got to Brianna, Danny was already there, holding her hand. Her eyes were closed and her chest never rose a millimeter.

I grabbed Danny by the shoulder and lifted him up. "It's going to be ok Danny." I told him with sympathy in my voice as he cried on my shoulder.

"No its not. It's never going to be alright." He said pushing me away, pulled out his pistol and held it to his head. The hammer was down. _Shit!_

"Whoa Danny. Think about it man. Remember the saying 'Fate takes things away from us when we least expected it'?" James asked him.

"I just don't know what to do with my life now that Brianna is gone." He said, sniffling.

"Look Danny, Killing yourself is not going to bring her back to life. When I lost my step-brother and when James lost his wife. We both had things that helped us keep us in this world, for one Ken had a baby boy to take care of and I had my family. We both had helped but nothing can fill the voids in our hearts, but we still chose to find that something to help fill it as we age with time. We could help you find something to help fill that void." I told him while stepping closer to where I'm an arms length away from him.

"Let us help you man." Colt also stepped closer.

Danny sighed, un-cocked the hammer and put the .45 back in its holster. After that day, Danny became one of the guys.

January 4th, Day 14

Its night and it was real quiet. Danny, Ken and I were keeping watch over the others. I looked at my watch and it read 2355 hrs.

"5 minutes," I told myself absently.

"5 minutes until what?" a voice asked from behind me.

I turned to see who it was and it was Carol, face barely visible in the moonlight. "5 minutes till midnight." I put my back to her and resumed my watch." Shouldn't you be asleep?" I asked her as I turned to find a face that wasn't Carol's but had maggots wiggling out of it and eyes glazed like milk.

The ghoul's mouth dropped open and shambled forward. I put the end of my suppressor on its forehead. I pulled the slider back and pulled the trigger. Gray matter flew from the back of its head as the G crumpled to the ground in a head. I put my pistol back and turned back around.

By that time, both my shoulders jerked back involuntary and everything went dark as I hit the forest floor. Damn.


	3. Chapter 3 Part One January 6th

January 6th, Day 16

I just woke up an hour ago but the others filled me in on what happened. Apparently, after I got hit in the shoulders, some random people wearing black came out and surrounded my party. They put bags over their heads, cuffed their hands together with plastic and brought us to their camp, wherever it is.

"You there, stop writing," a woman in black pointed at me. She was beautiful with her long, flowing brown hair. Her brown eyes burned with a passion for revenge. She pursed her lips while she looked over us, but her eyes stopped on me and she smiled with a look of lust. "The person who I told to stop writing, come with me, we are going somewhere where… we cannot be bothered by these people." She pointed to the flap of the tent then walked; no, I wouldn't say "walked", but she swayed her hips while strutting until the flap of the tent was closed.

I set my notebook down, stood up without using my hands and walked outside with one last glance at the others with a look that said 'help me.'

The flap of the tent fell behind me and I felt something hit the back of my knees, making me buckle. A bag slipped was slipped over my head and I was pulled back to my feet and dragged along.

I don't know how long it was, but on the way to where I was going, I heard trucks driving and backing up, men and women talking and laughing.

We stopped, my knees buckled again and the bag was taken off of my head. I looked around the tent and it was a simple tent. It had a folding cot, bed sheets folded at the end of the bed with one pillow on top. There was a folding desk at the back of the tent, with 4 lamps dotting around the room. The lamps were lit, but they were candle lamps, so they didn't give off a lot of light; there was little electricity running this far into the Great Panic.

"What do we have here?" asked a man that had years of a combat experience under his belt. He was wearing Army ACU's. He had regulation short white hair with a bald spot in the back.

"This is the leader of the survivor group we ambushed," the woman told the man in Army ACU's.

"Ah yes," the man said as he walked around the desk. "What is your name?" He asked as he stood in front of me and looked down upon me.

"Captain M. Petramala, United States Marine Corps, retired. Serial number 664268854." I recited as I was told to back in PLC if I was ever captured.

"Do you know why you are here Captain?" The man asked and I repeated the same thing. "Ok…. You are on my property, Captain. I can very well have you sued just for trespassing." He calmly told me. "Oh, were are my manners, I am Major General Charles Manchester and this is my Secretary, Sarah, who you already met."

"Hi," She said with a lustful tone then winked at me.

"You can either get off my property or you can be shot. Your choice." He said, standing up.

"I only have two questions for you Major Gen," I said while getting up, "first question: How can we be trespassing on your property, when you brought us here and my second question is this: How the fuck can you hold onto property while the whole world has gone to shit?!"

"To answer questions, here are my answers: I am really greedy, to put it simply, and you were on my property two days ago. And letting you guys go will only be a mistake." He said while sitting down behind his desk, pretending to go through a stack of paper.

My knees buckled and the bag was slipped back on. Fuck.

I don't know how long it was, but it took 436 steps from the Major General's tent to where we are being held.

I entered through the tent flap and sat down in front of the others.

"So, what happened?" James asked.

"Well, to put it simply: we are trespassing and he's going to sue us or shoot us and here's the fucked up part, he's keeping us here."

"That makes no fucking sense, whatsoever!" Danny exclaimed.

"I know,"

"That makes as much sense as $3 hooker going to a $2 convention without any singles." James said then everyone grew silent.

"No, James, just no."Colt said while James kept asking "what?"

"Captain, get your friends moving out of the tent with everything but their weapons." Sarah ordered as she barged into the tent.

"What? Why? What for?" I asked.

"No questions or I'll have to torture you." She said slyly with a hint of lust in her tone. Carol stared at her like she was going to kill her by…ripping her throat out.

"Um…ok…well you heard her guys, let's get out of here." I said while standing up.

"Yes, everyone grab your stuff except for you, my little torture buddy." Sarah ordered then pointed at me at the last part. I made sure just by pointing to myself and gulped when she nodded.

In all my years of living, that was the only time I was flustered.

Everyone was dragged outside the tent and Sarah pushed me to the floor. I pushed myself all the way until I touched a back pole of the tent, where, apparently, all the cushions were.

I don't know how but then she straightened my legs since they were up and sat on my stomach and started unbuttoning my BDU blouse.

"Wha-wha-what are yo-you goin-going to-to-to do with-with me?" I asked while stammering and trying to get out of her leg grip of death.

"What does it look like?" she asked calmly, while kissing me and she cut the plastic cuffs that tied my wrists together.

"Changing my clothes because they are all sweaty?" I asked after she took off my Olive Drab under shirt.

"We can go with that," She said while trying to undo my Marine Corps Martial Arts Belt. I grabbed my belt, put the bottom of my boots on to the Succubus's stomach and pushed the demon off of me. I got up and put my long sleeved OD shirt and put on blouse.

"What's your problem lady?!" I asked while buttoning up the jacket.

"I haven't had sex in…," she counted her fingers for a couple of minutes, "… 20 months."

I just stood there; looking at her while she stood up. She charged at me and I didn't know until the last second. I grabbed one of her extended arms, swung her around my body once and let her go. She stumbled and fell. But she got right back up and did it again, but this time, I dodged her grasp, rolled and slipped under the tent in one fluid movement. I got up and ran behind another tent. It was night out but lamps were lit so I could see fairly well. I looked to my right and there was a kid who starred at me, wide eyed.

I grabbed the kid's head and punched him in the head hard enough to knock him out. I picked up the weapon which was an AK-101. I grabbed the ammo belt and vest and put them on. I checked the magazine to see if there were any bullets left. There was. I re-inserted the clip and made sure the others had ammo also. I grabbed the kid's baklava and sunglasses and put them on. I walked out from the shadows of the tent and looked at everything that was inside the camp.

IT WAS FUCKING HUGE!!

I made my way over to where the others are being led to.

"Where are these prisoners being taken to?" I asked the guards while I jogged up.

"The 'Main Man' wants to see them." One of the two guards said.

"I can take them from here; go back to the Mess Tent to get some coffee or something." I suggested.

"Coffee does sound good. Alright, you can. Good luck though, he's being a-."

"Anyone of you guys see the leader of this party?" Sarah ran up and asked me. My answer was just the shake of my head. "Fuck what about you two?"

"We ain't seen nut in ma'am." The first guard answered

"Yup, we just see these guys here and that's it really." The second guard responded.

"Hmm….What was your name again, you with the sunglasses?" she asked me with a suspicious look in her eyes.

"My name's Dave."

"Ok Dave, why are you wearing sunglasses when its…," she looked at her watch, "10 O'clock at night?"

"Pink eye, maybe?"

"I don't believe it Captain!" She yelled as she pulled off my baklava. I kicked her in the stomach and rounded to where I shot the two guards from the hip in one movement. I ran over to my friends and untied them and took off their masks.

"Let's try and find the armory so we can get our weapons back." Colt suggested.

"You have any idea where it's at?" James asked.

"Yep,"

"Then you're on point," Ken ordered while he handed Colt one of the AK's. He just sighed while shaking his head.

We started off then I started hearing moaning coming from Sarah. "Hold up!" I shouted and they waited. I bent over her and whispered to her, "sorry about this," then I knocked her out with the butt of my AK.

"It's in here," Colt said then went inside the tent. We followed inside with me, Ken and Colt scanning the room for hostiles. It was clear.

"Holy zombie Jesus on a pogo stick!" James exclaimed.

I shook my head at the outburst then I looked around for my sniper.

After looking for awhile I found my stuff sitting next to Carol's. "Found our stuff Carol." I shouted while raising my Mollie pack and weapon in one hand and her stuff in the other.

"Alright guys, let's get some supplies then we can get out of here." Danny said after we found all our stuff.

"I got something I need to take care of. I'll meet you guys at the main gate." I said while picking up a timed C4 bomb and shoved it into a pouch on my vest. I grabbed another one and set the timer to 30 minutes. I set the C4 next to the most overflowing box that held a lot of ammo and was near the explosives. I quickly grabbed a shotgun and a couple of handfuls of shells and put them into my pockets. "You guys go, you got 28 minutes till this thing blows up!" I ordered.

"Alright, alright. Hold onto your panties while you clean the sand out of your vagina." James said as he herded the others out.

I swept under the tent and ran.

I came up behind the tent of Major General Charles Manchester and entered in.

"Why are you here?" He asked with surprise in his voice once he saw me.

"This," I said then hit him with the butt stock of my new M3 shotgun. "Stay in your seat or I'll blow your fucking head off!" I ordered as I pointed the muzzle directly in front of his face. He raised both his arms and I went to work sticking the bomb where it won't be seen and set the timer for 10 minutes.

After I set the timer, I was on my back, trying to defend myself from my neck being sliced open from a knife. I put my boots onto Manchester's stomach and pushed him off me. I scrambled to my feet and shot him with my shotgun. He staggered back and fell from another shell. I walked over and nudged his side to see if he was going to move. Stone still.

I picked him up and put him into his chair. I started the timer on the C4 and just got he fuck out of there.

After running for 10 minutes, Manchester's tent blew up. I turned back around after watching the boom and airborne shuffled to the fence. I started hearing a faint sound that was growing and growing with every step into the inky blackness. The sounds were the insistent moans of the undead at the fences.

"Holy fuck!" I breathed. I then heard the sound of shoes scuffling on the ground behind me. I turned to see what it was and it was Sarah sprinting at me like a fucking cheetah. Then _wham!_ We both on the ground, but with the wind knocked out of me and on my back with her on top. She was on me like a hobo on a baked potato.

"Now, where were we?" She asked me then without waiting for an answer, pulled me up by the collar and kissed my cheek as I turned my head. "Why must you -." She was interrupted by the honking of two Hummvees'.

"Let's go 'Piglet', we're burning gas here!" James shouted from the driver's door.

"Gotta go!" I said while pushing her off and ran to the Hummvee with James in it. I climbed into the passenger seat and yelled out "punch it!"

"You're not leaving without me." Sarah said as she climbed opened the back door and climbed over Ken.

"Fine! Whatever, just man the .50." James said then hit the gas. The Hummvee lurched forwards, broke through the gate at 60mph, ran over some G's and hit a dirt path.

"Red Ghost. This is Charlie Man, come in Red Ghost." James spoke into the CB radio.

"This is Red Ghost, go ahead Charlie Man." Crackled the radio.

"Give me that," I said while grabbing the receiver from James. "What's the status on your end?" I asked.

"All four of us are accounted for, but Jenna's having a fit that Danny's bleeding foot is on her lap."

"What happened?"

"Got a little bit shrapnel, not bad though. But he did get shot in the ass. He's fine though."

"That's good. We have one extra on the 50, what about you guys?"

"I see the whore. We picked up a kid and he's on our Mk.19 (for those who don't know, a Mark 19 is a rapid fire grenade launcher, it's like the one you use in the mission 'Shock and Awe' in Call of Duty 4).

"Very nice. I'm changing this Hummvee's call sign to my call sign I had back in the Wars for my Hummvee. You guys mind?" I asked the mike.

"Anything better than "Charlie Man", so were fine on this end."

"How about we go with Demon's Hell?" I asked again.

"I like it," Colt said.

"Same here," Ken and Sarah said in unison.

"Alright Red Ghost, good luck tailing us since James is driving, Demon's Hell out." I said while replacing the receiver.

"Roger that Demon's Hell, Red Ghost out." The radio fell silent.

"Now that's a call sign for a Hummvee, James."

"No it's not,"

"How is it not a call sign?" I asked.

He fell silent.

"That's what I thought. Off to California!!" I shouted.

January 10th, Day 20

We just entered Alabama 3 days ago and now we are close to the border of Mississippi. We stopped into a small town to fill up on gas and regain some supplies. Danny's foot and ass wounds have healed up nicely but Jenna is pissed still about blood on her good pants, I don't know. There were only a couple of G's in the town but that was it. We slept the night at the motel and we crossed into Mississippi that afternoon.

January 14th, Day 24

We just stopped in Arkansas to refuel and get some more water, but the town's main road was congested with a bunch of cars.

"Fuck," I breathed as I pulled the Hummvee to a stop and turned off the engine. "You see what I see?" I asked through my throat mike.

"Yeah, that's a huge pile up." Danny's voice answered in my earpiece.

"Alright, there will be two teams, Team A which will consist of Me, Danny, Ken, and Cameron. Team B will consist of Carol, James, Colt, and Sarah. Jenna and Karen will stay with the Hummvees. We're going to check this town out. Since it is a small town, we'll search the main street buildings. Use the cars to get cross the street if you have to. If you find any food, water or 7.62mm Ammo, bring those along. We'll need them.

"Meet back at the Hummvees at 1600 hrs, its 1400 hrs right now so we have two hours. Let's move out guys." I ordered and replaced the receiver back onto its holder. I grabbed my M3 and got out of the Hummvee. The others were already out of the cabin and milling around. "Team A, we'll go right side. Team B, you guys got left. Hubba hubba, let's get this done. I told them then started heading to the first door on the first building on the right side of the town.

Building by Building, we cleared each of the houses on the main street. We checked every nook and cranny and found nothing. We swept and cleared through the cars. We checked under them, in them, and around them.

We only found a couple, but that was it.

"Well nothing was found." Ken mumbled with a disappointed look on his face.

"Except for the clear path to the only gas station, which is on the left side of the town." Colt said.

"Let's go fill up then. Sarah!" I called out.

"Yeah?!"

"Your driving the Hummvee, we're going to put some gas in then heading out."

"'Kay."

I hoped into the Hummvee and got into the turret seat. _Now we play the waiting game._

January 23rd, Day 33

We crossed into Oklahoma and stopped to replenish our supplies and gas. Last night though, we crossed into northern Texas. Nothing but desert here. But we stopped at a little town which had a working oven. The girls went off somewhere while we guys made preparations to leave in the morning. By the time the girls got back, they were hiding something behind there back as they came up to us at the fire. They brandished a cake that read "Happy Birthday Mike" in frosting. Though there were no candles to light, everyone asked how old I was. I turned 29 that day. Everyone sang happy birthday, save for Cameron who just sat there scowling.

January 26th, Day 36

Yesterday was brutal. First of all, we ran out of gas for the Hummvee's and ran into, I think around 40 G's but they were a bitch to kill. Some were soldiers who had their full combat gear on! After we got rid of the cock suckers, we took some helmets and looked at the weapons. HK416s. All of the weapons were.

We took all the ammo we could find on the bodies and gave Jenna a 416 and Ken taught her the basics of how to reload, and how to shoot.

We walked all day and crossed into New Mexico without anything else happening. Well almost nothing. All I'm going to say is that Sarah attempted, many times I might add, to get into my sleeping bag. She was caught every time.

February 1st, Day 42

We came into a little town today and it was an almost perfect day except, somehow there was this strange feeling I was being watched, not by Zach, but something else. I don't know, it's hard to explain. Either way, we are heading to California.

We replenished out supplies on both food and water. We also found a couple sleeping bags for Sarah and Cameron.

February 8th, Day 50


	4. Chapter 4 Part One February 8th

February 8th, Day 50

We stopped off at the city of Albuquerque for the night. I wish I could have avoided the city but some how we lost all our food. I don't know, but either way, we're here in Albuquerque for the night.

"Hey what's that over there?" James asked pointing to something in the morning sun. We just stopped for the moment to rest.

"I don't probably a city? Let's go check it out really quick." Ken suggested to him.

"Alright, hold on; let me get my bino-oculars." James replied while running over to get his binoculars from his bag.

"Whatcha doing there, my little plaything?" Sarah asked as she walked up to me.

"Go away, I'm 'batin." I told her. Ah Idiocracy, what a great movie.

"What the hell is "Batin'?" she asked.

"I'm writing, is that better? And stop calling me your 'little plaything', it gets annoying and my name is Mike. M-I-K-E. Now get that through you thick skull." I told her bluntly

"I'd rather not, my little plaything." She told me while pushing me into the sand and got on top of me.

"And I'd rather have you get off." I told her while pushing her off of me.

"You're no fun," she said while crossing her legs and crossing her arms under her breasts.

"I am fun, just not-." I was interrupted by the shouts of James and Ken.

"Hey guys! Guys!"

"What is it you two?" Karen asked.

"We found a…a city!" James panted.

"It's Albuquerque …we can restock on ammo and…and food." Ken added while regaining breath.

"Damn it, I was hoping to avoid the cities, but with our food gone, we gotta go there." I said.

"Let's just hope we don't waste any more ammo than we need to." Danny commented as he put on his vest and his pack on.

"Yeah, and let's hope we survive this." Colt added in.

"We will," I said reassuringly then thought to myself _God, I hope we do._

* * *

"Go left. You go right; I'll head up the middle." I ordered as me, James, and Danny I lined up in front of the door. Colt's kicking it in since he has the most leg strength of any of us. I nodded to Colt and he kicked the door in while we rushed inside.

"Clear," James called out as he came from a room going off to the left.

"Clear over here," Danny also called out as he strolled out from the kitchen.

"Upstairs, I got point," I motioned with my hands. They nodded then we headed up the stairs.

We searched each and every room. Each one was worse than the last. We came into the Master Bedroom and saw three G's chowin' down on a person. They ripped off flesh and put it into there mouths. Blood dribbled down the sides of their mouths and ate.

One looked up at us then dropped its mouth and let out a deep moan. It stood up and shambled over to us. I put my foot onto its chest and put the muzzle of my shotgun on its forehead. It grabbed my boot and then _Boom!_ The entire top head was gone. It just went _poof_, gone. The other two zombies stood up and came after us.

Danny pulled out his pistol and cocked it. He heard something from behind us and breathed, "Oh fuck."

James took out the two in front of us then turned behind us.

There was probably around 10-11 zombies shambling towards us. Once they set foot into the doorway, we started shooting, but we took turns.

"Aw man, those bodies stink something fierce." James said while putting his bandana over his mouth. Danny and I did the same.

"Aw, god damn that stinks. Hey Colt." I said while pressing my earpiece.

"Yeah?" the earpiece crackled.

"We gotta burn this house; I think we got 13 or 14 bodies up here. We're heading down now."

"Roger that, I'll get the Molotov's ready then." He replied.

"Let's move guys." I ordered then weaved my way through the rotting bodies.

As we came outside, Colt had Molotov cocktail's rag ablaze then threw it through a window. He lit two more then threw those two, one through a downstairs window and the other through another upper window.

"Ready?" Danny asked.

"Let's get out of here. James said then we started weaving through the cars.

"How's the hunt going guys?" Carol's voice asked through our earpieces.

"Had to torch our second one. What about you girls?" Danny asked.

"Still in the Market District."

"Roger that. Good luck girls."

"You too," The feed cut out.

Once Carol cut out, we walked in silence for around 10 minutes. I heard the report of a rifle. The bullet hit Danny in his helmet, but was knocked to the ground. We each took up positions behind cars, for cover.

"You alright Danny?" I asked while pulling him to safety.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where'd I get shot." He asked and I pointed to the middle of my helmet. He just sighed with relief that he was still alive.

"How are you and Colt, James?" I asked while setting my shotgun down and un-slung my sniper.

"We're good," James said then gave a thumb up.

"Let me take this bastard out." I ordered while lying under the car and using the tire for cover. _Now where are you? _I asked the shooter with my mind as I pulled up my scope. "Damn it. I don't see him. I need someone fast for a decoy." I told them and James leaned up against the car, ready to bolt. "When I say 'Mark', you haul ass until you here my rifle shot." I said while unscrewing my suppressor and he nodded acknowledgement. "Mark!" I shouted and off he went. Rifle fire sounded around him then came my turn. I shot where I was able to see the flash of the gun from the sniper.

The bullet exited from my rifle and hit the enemy right in the forehead. After that shot, it grew dead silent.

"Something's not right." Colt mused after a few minutes. "You still there James?"

"You know it!" He answered.

"Hold on," I put my helmet on the muzzle of my rifle and lifted it. The rifle jerked back and the helmet clattered and rolled until Colt grabbed it. "James, you and Colt take the right side. Danny and I got the left side of the sidewalk. Don't stop for anything. Sprint all the way to building in front of us on my mark." I ordered through the throat mike.

"But that's suicide!" James whined.

"Then let's us the cars for cover." Danny suggested and is if the cars didn't want that plan, one that was behind us blew up and flipped onto the others.

"We'll use Pet's plan." James said with a loud gulp while I put on my helmet.

"Alright, we're moving in 3…2…1…Mark!" I shouted and started running down the sidewalk.

Bullets whizzed by my head but they never stopped me. I was jumping over bodies, tires, debris, turned over mailboxes and anything else that can be found on a city sidewalk. I came to the T-intersection and felt something brush my sleeve but I ignored it. I came up to the side of the door to where I thought the sniper was hiding. Danny came up behind me and James and Colt took positions on the other side.

I kicked the door down and stormed inside. Once I was in, I stopped dead in my tracks. The sight I saw was just a horrible thing that cannot be expressed in words.

The entire room was covered in blood. It was smeared all over and bodies strewn everywhere. Peoples faces, arms, fingers, legs, pieces of skin, muscle and everything else was torn or ripped away, bones were showing and…. I can't describe it anymore; it was just a horrible, horrible sight to recap. I still get nightmares just from thinking back on that period.

I walked back outside in a daze, I put my back against the wall and slide until I was sitting and someone asked if I was alright. My response was, "Go look inside."

"My god," I heard James, "this is just to-to horrible."

"I don't want to look anymore, let's just go." Colt suggested.

"Yeah, let's get out of this place." Danny agreed.

They came out and saw my helmet between my legs, sitting with my back against the wall with my shotgun on my lap, my sniper resting against my shoulder.

"Let's go meet up with the girls." Danny said.

"Yeah," I agreed while getting up, "let's."

"Let us never speak of this again." James suggested as we walked on.

"Agreed," the rest of us said in unison while I put on my stuff.

* * *

"You girls find anything?" Danny asked the girls as we came into earshot.

"Nope, what about you guys?" Karen called back.

"Just a guy thinking we were Zach but we're ok." Danny replied.

"That's good," Carol said. "Ok, we only got this building left; you guys want to check it out?"

"Yeah, I got point." I said while shouldering my M3. I took the doorknob and turned it and tried pushing it in. nothing. Colt and I tried shoving it in, but nothing happened. I kicked down the door and almost threw up at the sight of the bodies that came tumbling down.

"Bail!" James shouted. "Bail damn it!"

We found an apartment complex that was clear of blood, bodies or anything else of that type. We found 5 rooms across from each other and settled for two per room. Ken and I had the first room. James and Colt had the second, Danny was with Cameron. And the girls had their partners.

Well, the room me and Ken had was a plain one. It had two bedrooms, one bath and a small kitchen. It was a good room since sleeping mostly on the ground, during the trip hurt. Luckily, the apartments had running water so we were able to shower. I can't even remember the last time I showered during those three months.

"Man, I feel so clean!" Ken gasped from his room.

"I know what you mean; it's been so long since we last took a shower."

"Yeah," Ken said with a sigh, but a knock came from the door. I hurriedly put on my pants, since I was in my boxers. I fell over putting on my pants so Ken walked over to the door to stall for a bit so I can put on my damn pants. "Who is it?" he asked.

"It's me," said a female voice that was a bit muffled from the door. "I need to talk to Mike about something."

"What's the password?" Ken asked and there was a pause.

"I don't know; bacon?"

Ken looked over at me and saw that I was ready. He nodded and said, "Alright, hurry up." He opened the door and the demon spawn from hell came into our room. Its name is Sarah! And Karen came along also.

Ken closed the door as both cleared the doorway and both came up to me, but Sarah was the only one interested me. She had a serious look in her eyes and I can only guess what she wanted.

"I need to talk to you alone." She told me as I pulled my shirt down so she doesn't get any ideas.

"Ok, come on in, I guess." I said walking into my room and closed my door after Sarah was in. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about." I asked while watching her taking a seat on the bed.

"Ever since we left the compound, I've been scheming with Cameron on how to kill you guys off." She said with a sigh.

_Now there's a shocker._ I thought with surprise but I kept my tone steady. "Mhmm…Well now, what's up with you telling me this?" I asked as I sat in a chair across from here.

"My guess is guilt took over and I did not want it on my conscience."

"I see. So you were overwhelmed with guilt that you came to me to relieve it. Why do I feel like you're holding back on me? And why did you come to me instead of one of the other girls?"

"1, I'm not holding anything back, I just had to say tell you that and 2," she sighed, "I just fell I can trust you more than anyone else in this group. Well, I'm going to go now, have a good night's sleep." She said as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, good night." I told myself and crawled into bed since it was 2200 hrs. I fell asleep around midnight.

February 15th, Day 57

It was a long and lonely road that we crossed. It was hard to travel with the silence. Everyone tried starting a topic but no got into it for long. We even tried singing war songs, or any type of song, but we still fell silent. It was a fruitless endeavor to get us to talk, but we kept to our own thoughts as we walked on.

As we walked along, we came to a freeway and saw it was jam packed with cars. We just stayed off to the side and kept walking. Sometimes we would come across a trench and the only way to cross it was to cross a bridge. We would run into the occasional ghoul but we disposed of it like always.

We found ammo in food in those cars or SUV's and a change of underwear, socks and I even found a chargers hat. I burned it when we made camp.

February 20th, Day 62

We just arrived in Arizona today and god it was hot as hell. It's becoming harder and harder to travel across desert without a lot of water. All we can do is charge on until we reach California.

February 22nd, Day 64

Finally! We stopped into a small town and found two Hummvee's in perfect condition, meaning: full take of gas, two fully loaded .50 caliber machine guns, the keys in the ignition and both engine's are running smoothly. Danny and I were the drivers this time with James and Cameron as gunners.

Once we were getting ready to leave, out of nowhere, these random guys popped out and surrounded both the Hummvee's

"Get out!" shouted the man next to me while he pointed his MP5 at my head.

"Alright," I said, while cocking my shotgun as quietly as I could. I opened the door and _bam!_ I shot the guy then hit the pedal the Hummvee shot forward.

Bullets pinged off the armor and the bullet proof glass.

James and Cameron opened up with 50's as we sped off.

"Red Ghost, come in Red Ghost, this Demon's Hell. Over." I spoke into the receiver.

"We read you Demon's Hell, what's your status? Over." Jenna asked through the radio.

"We're alright over here, I just got a little blood but it ain't my own. How about you girls? Over."

"Were absolutely fine over here. Red Ghost out."

"Roger that Red Ghost. Demon's Hell out." I said while replacing the receiver. "California, here we come!!" I shouted and someone yelled out "Yeehaw!"

February 23rd, Day 65

We arrived in L.A. just an hour ago in one of the designated "Green zones," or safe zones. We we're directed here by Army units up from San Diego, along the 5. It was pretty crowded in the Rec Center we are staying at, but I'm not going in to complain. We are going to watch over recruits in two days for the New Army, well… Carol, Ken and I will since we were officers in the Marines. The Army said we can stay the same rank if we become Combat Officers. As a Captain, I'll be in charge of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and 101st Airborne Division. Since both Carol and Ken are 1st Lieutenants, Ken will from now be my Executive officer while Carol will be XO of Delta Company. Let the training and the fun begin!


End file.
